These Our Choices
by My Angel's Wings
Summary: Draco and Ginny must face their choices.
1. Facing Our Choices

Just a short little thing I did when I was bored. There maybe more chapters. I'm already getting ideas.

I'd like to apologize. I wasn't paying attention when I rated this the first time around and didn't notice that it was a K until it was pointed out to me. I wouldn't want little kids to be reading this either, Love of the Twilight. Ergo the new and improved rating.

_We can only learn to love by loving. _

Draco watched as the redhead next to him trailed her fingers across his chest. Ginny was lying on her side next to him in his large bed. He knew that soon she should be getting dressed and leaving, but he couldn't make himself suggest it.

"I love seeing you this way," she said softly.

"What? Naked?" He smirked at her.

"Unguarded." Ginny corrected. "When ever I see you in the halls, you're always so unfeeling. Why is it that you never show me this side of you outside this room?"

"But it's such a nice room; all nice and private now that I get my own room. Privileges of the Head Boy and all that."

"Draco." This was even softer than her previous statement. Draco sighed.

"You know why, Ginny."

"What, because of this?" She trailed her fingers lightly along the black mark marring the pearly skin on his left arm. "Draco, I don't care. I love you." He sat up and violently tore his arm away from her.

"Don't." he hissed. "You think you're the only one involved in this?" Ginny sat up, wrapping the sheet around her. There were tears in her eyes, Draco noticed.

"Fine. I only meant…"she got up and started fishing for her clothes. "I'm…I'll just go."

Draco felt a stab in his heart. When he had first brought Ginny to this room, near the start of term, he never imagined the effect she'd have on him. It scared him. Then it had just been about the sex; now, however, it was about feelings. And now Ginny's were hurt.

"Gin," he caught her arm and pulled her back on to the bed.

"Don't…" she tried to pull free, but he kissed her lips softly and she stopped struggling. Draco let her go and she sank down on the bed again. He tenderly wiped away the tears left by his spark words.

"I'm sorry, Gin. But you know that outside this room, I can't offer you anything. We're on two opposite sides of a war. As soon as I graduate, that's it for me. I'm His. The moment I walk out those gates, if anyone on your side sees me again, they'll kill me."

"Draco, you haven't _done_ anything," Ginny argued. "You could go to Dumbledore, change sides…" But Draco was shaking his head.

"You know I can't. I'd be leaving my mother alone in that mess; they'd kill her for my betrayal. I've told you about that already. So you see, I can't switch sides. And I have no right to ask you to either. I know you would, if I asked. But you're too good, Ginny. You wouldn't be able to betray your friends." Another tear slipped down Ginny's cheek.

"Hey now, none of that." She grinned uneasily at him.

"I love you." The grin slipped off her face as she searched his eyes.

"You do?" He nodded.

"I know I never say it, but I do." Ginny sat up and pleaded with him.

"Then let's leave. Just vanish; no one will ever see us again. That's not betrayal. I don't care where, just so long as we're together. Please Draco."

"Could you really do that? Abandon your friends? Your family? It'd be selfish of me to ask you to do that." He told her.

"It's a good thing you're not the one asking then. Draco, nobody knows what the future will hold because of the war. But when I look to the future, all I see is you." He caressed her face with the back of his knuckles.

"Shh, love." He held her close to him. "There is nothing in the world I want more than to be with you for the rest of our lives. But the choices we've made don't lead us down that path yet. Maybe it will one day, but now we have to face the consequences of our choices."

"What about the consequences of this choice?" she motioned to them and the bed. "The choice to do this. What if I had gotten pregnant? And we've fallen in love, isn't that a consequence?"

"Yes it is. And now we're having to face it," Draco said somberly. "Ginny, I don't want to have to do this, but these are the choices I've made. We won't be able to face this thing together."

Ginny held him tightly.

"I'll never stop loving you."

"I don't want you too. Maybe someday we'll be able to be together, but that day is a long way off. Just promise me something?" He asked her.

She looked up into his eyes. "Anything."

"When you graduate, don't join the fighting. I know you can't completely stay out of the war, but don't fight. Do anything else; be a healer even. Your touch healed my soul, it can do the same for other people's physical wounds."

"Why?" she asked.

"Ginny, just promise." Draco said brusquely.

"Alright, I promise. But why?" she asked again.

Draco sighed in relief.

"Because every time I have to go our there, if I have to worry about you I'll get distracted and get killed. I wouldn't be able to not worry about you either; wondering if you're ok, praying that a stay curse doesn't kill you, or worse, one of my curses. I couldn't handle it if I was the one to kill you."

Ginny squeezed him tightly for a second.

"Well, I've promised. I won't step foot on a battleground."

"Good." He kissed her temple. "Stay with me tonight?"

"But I've never stayed. What if I get caught?"

"I have an Invisibility Cloak you can use to leave with me in the morning. But all too soon we're going to be separated. I want to spend every minute of the time we can spare with you." Ginny kissed him then got comfortable.

"Of course I'll stay."

Is love supposed to last throughout all time, or is it like trains changing at random stops. If I loved her, how could I leave her?

A/N: The quotes were by Iris Murdoch and Jeff Melvoin respectively.


	2. The Truth of Our Choices

The Truth of Our Choices

"Hold him down! Novice Brogan, grab that leg! Ahh!" Ginny recoiled as she was struck by the patient's flailing limbs. "I said hold him!"

The team of two healers and two novices that were working in that ward quickly finished with that patient before moving on to more. Ginny was already ordering the novices to prep the next wounded person when the other Healer in the ward, Healer Foster, pushed her into a chair.

"We're done. They stopped bringing people in an hour ago. Relax a minute." The older witch pressed a glass of water into Ginny's hands. Ginny weakly grinned her thanks.

"You're something, you know that?" Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"Well first you blow through Healer training faster than anyone has ever, then you plunge right in with war victims. Not many new Healers start out with something so taxing on their strength." Foster pulled up a chair as Ginny shrugged.

"I wanted to help with the war. And since I can't fight, this was the best place for me." The other woman nodded.

"You're a natural. And you seem to have a passion for it," she commented.

"It's hard, but a lot is fear that the next person I lay my hands on will be someone I know. That makes me always be prepared and to keep going and not give up on the person."

"It's scary. Especially since they bring us _their_ wounded too. You were the only witch brave enough to take them in. Which is one of the reasons that you only have Brogan, Nutley and me in here with you; we're the only crazy ones. The other reason is that you're our best, and the committee thinks you're enough healer for two." Ginny beamed at the praise.

"They only bring us the wounded from their side who are to injured to be questioned immediately."

"Well, still. You should consider going out into the field. They need a lot of brave Healers out there; a good deal of people die before they can be brought here. More Healers out there will give more of them a chance. Nice shiner you've got coming. Want me to heal it?" the other witch offered.

The doors to the ward burst open as orderlies brought in more patients.

"Maybe later," Ginny said as she got up and headed towards the first new patient.

"What do we got?"

Ginny blew her hair out of her face as she unlocked the door to her small house. She dropped her keys in the holder by the door and hung her jacket on the coat rack before heading into the kitchen. Healer Foster hadn't been wrong when she said Ginny had blown through Healer training. Most trainees spend four or five years in the program; some even spend six. A few students in history had done it in three: Ginny did it in two.

Fresh from Hogwarts, Ginny had thrown herself into her studies with a single-mindedness that was inspirational to even the most fanatical. In only half a year of completing training, Ginny had already earned a name for herself among her colleagues and the novices. Besides being the fastest person to finish the training, she was also the only Healer who would work on any of the other side's wounded until Healer Foster had transferred to St. Mungo's. Not that there were many of them; most of those who lived were taken straight into custody. Only the severely wounded ended up in the hospital.

Ginny set about making her dinner; humming a song she had heard Nutley singing that afternoon. Tomorrow she was supposed to go to her parent's for the weekly dinner they tried to get all of their children and pseudo-children to come to. Last time it was just her parents, Fleur, and Ginny. All the others had been busy with their jobs in the war effort. According to Mrs. Weasley, however, the rest had promised to show for this one. Ginny hoped another battle or attack didn't happen until then; todays had been an attack on a small town that nearby Order members had responded to. If a full-blown battle occurred, undoubtedly at least half the family would miss the dinner.

Ginny turned the kitchen tap on to wash her hands before eating. She stared out the window at the quite Muggle street she lived on. It was a nice place; she had chosen it because it had that small own feel to it. It was, of course, not in a small town. Her mother had rejected that idea-too many small towns had been attacked in the last three years. This town was too large and had to few wizards and witches living in it to make it worth attacking. She shut the tap off.

Ginny's eyes focused on the reflection in the clean glass of the window. That was a nice shiner. Ginny took a sharp breath, her eyes going wide. She quickly spun around.

"Draco!" Ginny rushed into his arms. Draco locked his arms around her waist as he buried his face in her hair, inhaling the scent of her.

"What are you doing here? I was so worried when you didn't show up the last time we were suppose to meet. How'd you get here?" Draco laughed.

"No hello kiss? I missed you, Gin." Ginny grinned and stood on tiptoe to kiss him.

"But that still doesn't answer my other question," she pointed out when the kiss had ended.

"I Apparated here while you were at work," he explained. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Of course I am. But can't they trace you when you Apparate? Why didn't you send me a message and meet me at the cottage? It's too dangerous; this place isn't magically protected. You know that."

"I was careful," Draco assured her. "I went to several heavily trafficked places before Flooing twice then hopping a Portkey that a bunch of people were taking then Flooing again before Apparating here. If your boys can track that, I've got to give them credit."

"While they put you in Azkaban." Draco chuckled and kissed her again. When he pulled back, he gave her a grave look.

"I killed someone today, Gin." Suddenly Ginny understood his haste. She was the only comfort he had when he took a life. Ginny led him to the living room and sat him on the couch.

"It was a witch. I didn't know her. But for a horrifying moment, Ginny, I thought it was you. She had red hair that was shorter that yours, but it's been over six months you could have cut your hair since then. It wasn't until I fired the curse that I really saw her. She looked like you. I nearly died right then. I had the good sense to look. Something told me you wouldn't break your promise."

Ginny shook her head.

"One of the other Healers suggested I do field work. I didn't know how to explain that I couldn't. My family already thinks I'm a bit odd because I refuse to fight. God only knows what they're going to think when they hear about me refusing to heal on a battleground." Ginny laughed. She watched Draco as he lifted his hand to her face.

"How'd you get that bruise?"

"Oh that. One of our patients got violent. I work in the ward that takes in the injured from your side as well as ours; your people really don't like us." She laughed worriedly. "Every time they bring someone in, I'm afraid it's going to be you."

Draco pulled his wand from his pocket and healed the bruise.

"Don't be ridiculous. I would never end up in St. Mungo's. If I'm going to go down, I'm going all the way." Ginny grabbed his hand before he could lower it.

"Don't joke," she implored. "I see that every day; people who were alive and well at the beginning of the day, and by the end of the day, I'm putting all I have into saving them. Please don't go and get yourself killed." Draco brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles lightly.

"No more jokes. Promise."

"How long can you stay?" Ginny queried. Draco shrugged.

"Do you have to work tomorrow?" Ginny shook her head.

"I have a family dinner tomorrow night, but I can blow it off," she offered.

"No, don't do that. I have to be back by evening tomorrow for a meeting of some kind." They never spoke of what their respective sides did or planned. The couple knew if they asked the other to tell them what went on behind enemy lines, the other person would; so they just did not tell of it at all. "I was thinking though. Tomorrow afternoon we should go out and explore this lovely town you live in. We can disguise ourselves like the last time we went somewhere together. It'll be perfect." Ginny shrugged.

"I don't know; it could be too dangerous. But I'll think about it." Draco grinned broadly.

"And I'm going to make you breakfast in the morning. I missed out on getting to pamper you the last time, so I'm going to make up for it now," he told her when she started to object.

"Alright, it's a plan," she agreed.

The next morning, Ginny stirred when she heard a thumping noise.

_Must be Draco sneaking around. _

She slowly opened her eyes, only to bolt straight up when she saw the seen before her. Several wizards and witches held their wands aimed at her. She pulled the sheet covering her around her more tightly as she scanned the rest of the room, silently praying. When she saw a half clothed Draco struggling with several other wizards, her face fell. While two held his arms, another punched him in the stomach. Draco doubled over in pain and stopped struggling. The wizard who hit him turned to face her. With a sinking feeling, Ginny recognized him.

Harry Potter.

A/N: Well, there you go, another chapter. Unless I get a sudden inspiration, there's probably going to be about five chapters. I'm not sure though. Let's see how it goes.


	3. Update

Hello, happy readers. You are probably very put out with me for not updating ANYTHING in so long. I promise I'll jump on it. I've got updates to this story in progress right now, so you should have some soon….maybe before the week is up.

Cheers.


End file.
